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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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sports lead
'Mr. Cub' Ernie Banks presents Obama with Jackie Robinson's bat
(CNN) - 'Mr. Cub' Hall of Famer Ernie Banks came into the major leagues with a spirit of positivity, possibility, and that unmistakable smile that gave Chicago Cubs fans faith.
He continued to blaze a trail that Jackie Robinson started when he broke baseball's color barrier. And though Banks never won a World Series, never even played in the playoffs, he now has something bigger than the most blinged-out championship ring.
Today, Banks received the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom, standing alongside 15 other recipients – among them former President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey.
Banks let CNN in on a little secret. During the ceremony, he gave President Barack Obama something very special to him.
"I presented him with the Jackie Robinson bat. Jackie Robinson was my idol, as you know, and he was the first black to play in the Major Leagues," said Banks. "My life is really in a happy moment."
FULL POST
buried lead
Pastor suspended for officiating son's same-sex wedding would do it again
(CNN) - A Pennsylvania minister was suspended for 30 days on Tuesday after he was found guilty in a church trial for officiating his son's same-sex wedding, according to church officials.
If Pastor Frank Schaefer officiates another same-sex marriage, he could be defrocked, not just suspended. But he says it would be "absolutely worth it" to take a stand for what he believes is equality.
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money lead
Why JPMorgan $13 billion settlement is 'a scam'
JPMorgan has agreed to a $13 billion settlement over mortgage-backed securities sold ahead of the financial crisis.
The Justice Department called the agreement "the largest settlement with a single entity in American history."
But this is not a win for the Justice Department, according to Salon.com writer David Dayen, who wrote an article headlined "JPMorgan’s bait-and-switch: The ballyhooed settlement is just a scam!"
"The settlement, first of all, is not $13 billion, the (Federal Housing Finance Agency) announced a $4 billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase to settle a lawsuit a month ago," said Dayen. "The Justice Department just stuck that in to their top line number to make it look bigger."
Also, $7 billion of the settlement will be tax deductible for JPMorgan, "which means taxpayers essentially will pay $2.5 billion of the settlement," said Dayen.
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national lead
Art critic's take on former President George W. Bush's paintings
(CNN) - Former President George W. Bush is proving to be a bona fide painter, gifting big time celebrities with portraits, and now garnering mixed praise - just like real artists! - from critics like New York Magazine's Jerry Saltz.
"I loved the kind of oddity of it, the eccentricity, the feeling that this guy was just trying to paint this very private world," Saltz said in an interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
Saltz is not politically aligned with the former president, saying he "always thought of him as a gremlin on the wing of America."
But "then I went into shock, because I actually like some of these paintings," said Saltz.
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national lead
Da Vinci. Rembrandt. Picasso ... Bush?
Da Vinci. Rembrandt. Picasso. Bush.
"I do take painting seriously, it's changed my life," said the 43rd President of the United States, who presented his latest canvas to late-night talk show host Jay Leno.
"I can't make fun of him now!" the comedian said, after receiving Bush's Jay Leno portrait.
A marked difference from early-period Bush, which trended towards bathroom self-portraits, which the world learned about through hacked e-mails to the president's sister Dorothy. The critics raved that the paintings "border on the visionary, the absurd, the perverse, the frat boy," as art critic Jerry Saltz put it.
Okay, maybe "rave" wasn't exactly the right word. But everyone's a critic, including a fellow former occupant of the White House.
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